It’s been dark. Not pitch black, exactly. But the moon has been hiding. That’s over now.
June 17 looks like
We’re back at the start. Again.
Right now, it’s a Waxing Crescent. Wednesday, June 17. NASA says 14% of the surface is catching the light. It’s a thin sliver. You can actually see it with just your eyes. Look for the dark patches near the edge—the Mare Fecunditatis and Mare Crisium.
Binoculars? Or a telescope?
If you have them, point them there. You’ll catch a glimpse of the Endymion Crater. It’s a small win after nights of staring at nothing but star fields.
When does it fill up?
You’ll have to wait a bit. The next Full Moon hits on June 29. That’s more than a week away. Patience isn’t fun, I know.
Why it keeps changing
It’s just an orbit. About 29.5 days long.
The moon doesn’t change its shape. Earth doesn’t cast the shadow (not usually, anyway). The angle does.
The same face of the moon always looks at us. That’s true. But the sun hits it differently as we travel through our orbit. So the amount of sunlight we see shifts. From thin to thick. From dark to bright. Then back again. We call this the lunar cycle. It’s predictable. It’s boring in its consistency.
Here is the playbook, repeated endlessly:
- New Moon : It’s between us and the sun. We see nothing. It’s invisible.
- Waxing Crescent : A sliver appears. On the right, if you’re up north.
- First Quarter : Half lit. Still right side. It looks simple.
- Waxing Gibbous : More than half. Almost full, but not there yet.
- Full Moon : All of it. Bright. Annoying if you hate light pollution.
- Waning Gibbous : Light starts dropping. From the right side.
- Third Quarter : Half lit again. Now on the left.
- Waning Crescent : A final sliver on the left before the blackout.
“The moon completes one orbit around Earth in about 0.5 days.” Just kidding. It’s 29.
So look up. It’s 14% there. Not bad for a start.
